Jannik Sinner might have just pulled off a fantastic win at the Cincinnati Masters, but his journey is far from smooth. The Italian sensation breathed a sigh of relief when the ITIA tribunal cleared him of doping charges, a cloud that had loomed ominously over his career. But while he’s finally able to focus on his game, the drama is far from over. Now, he’s facing a wave of backlash, and it seems like American tennis star Tommy Paul couldn’t resist taking a subtle jab at the whole situation.

The American star player put out a story on his Instagram where he can be seen getting a massage from his physio. Captioning the image, he wrote, “@sebacozzarin he’s back.” While this might have been a normal post, what caught the attention of the tennis fans is a bizarre gesture from Paul’s physio. 

The physio can be seen wearing a pair of black gloves as he massages the American sensation. Several tennis enthusiasts have attributed this to be a subtle dig at the whole scenario concerning Sinner. For the unversed, the ITIA in its ruling highlighted that Sinner cannot be blamed for doping as the chemical entered his body unintentionally. 

Sinner tested positive for low levels of a metabolite of clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid that can be used for ophthalmological and dermatological use, during his campaign at the Indian Wells. He tested positive again eight days later in an out-of-competition sample. But the ITIA ruling revealed that the chemical entered his body as “a result of contamination from a support team member, who had been applying an over-the-counter spray containing clostebol to their own skin to treat a small wound.”

The support staff, Giacomo Naldi, then passed along the chemical to Sinner via “daily massages and sports therapy,” since he worked without gloves. Hence, Paul’s physio wearing a pair of gloves while massaging him can be indeed seen as a dig at Sinner. The entire case, meanwhile, has been subjected to controversy. 

While Sinner was provisionally suspended from playing tennis and faced a ban from 4 April until 5 April 2024 and from 17 April until 20 April 2024, they were eventually lifted. The latest ruling further acquitted him of the charges and he was let go after giving away $325,000 and 400 ranking points, which he earned during the Indian Wells. This has drawn serious flak to the ATP Tour and ITIA who are accused of biased treatment towards the reigning Australian Open champion. But amidst the series of flak, Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill highlighted the mental toll that Sinner had to bear amidst the entire controversy. 

Jannik Sinner’s coach opens up about the doping controversy

In such turbulent times as this, when a majority of people are turning their backs against Jannik Sinner, what the Italian dynamo would be desiring is some support and trust. His coach, who has been working with the World No. 1 since June 2022, has done exactly that amid the growing backlash for the player. 

On a recent appearance on ESPN, Cahill firmly stated, “Jannik would never do anything like that intentionally. It’s an unfortunate situation, but the truth came out.” Continuing further, he highlighted the troubles that Sinner faced due to the controversy. “You would have seen a big change in his physicality and excitement to be on the court, it wore him down physically and mentally, he got tonsillitis (and) missed the Olympics. We’re not looking for any sorrow. Just thankful there is no ban attached,” Cahill added.

As Sinner gears up to take over his opponents once again at the US Open, it would be interesting to see if he can keep his motivation intact and win big at the tournament.